New season, New volunteers

As fall is rolling in with rain and wind, a new crew of volunteers is trickling in to KNOM and Nome – as Alaska Airlines flights allow. A low pressure storm is sitting off the coast, bringing record rainfall to the region. We’ve had one volunteer arrival delayed, and we’re waiting for another with baited breath, hoping the plane will have enough ceiling to make the landing tonight. What a welcome to Western Alaska!

We at KNOM are really excited to have new faces and new energy in the building. Although, our good-byes have been equally moving, as we’re wishing fond farewells to friends and co-workers we’ve grown to love and appreciate over the last one or two years.

The volunteer program is in a unique position this year, as we have five fresh, new faces arriving within the span of a month, and all the veteran volunteers are moving on to pursue new challenges in life. It hasn’t happened like this in the recent past, where we were presented with an entire new crew. Thankfully we still have one current volunteer, Matthew, winding up a two-year stint at KNOM. He finishes up at the beginning of September, and will be able to impart some KNOM knowledge and fervor to the “newbies” before he departs for good.

The volunteers arrive to a flurry of new things, from new friends and places in Nome, to new jobs and surroundings at the station. It truly is a whirlwind of a few weeks, as they get adjusted to the environment and tackle their duties at KNOM. But within a few weeks they are completing tasks they never think are possible while observing during the first few days. Training is intense and there is a lot to learn, but it’s definitely do-able. The application process is extensive for a reason. We know the folks we bring up here are ready and able to tackle the challenge!

And one of those new duties will be posting to the volunteer blog. Over the next few weeks, each of the new volunteers will tackle their first blog post, commenting on their first impressions of Nome and work at the station, as they embark on a year of service here.

If you, or someone you know is interested in the volunteer program at KNOM, find more at the volunteer page on our website: www.knom.org/volunteer. We have a full crew for this year, but will be starting the application review process in the beginning of 2013. All applications received before February 15th, 2013 will be given first priority to open positions to begin a year of service in August 2013.